What will 2026 bring when it comes to People in your business?
Oh-oh it’ s another New Year and for me that means another attempt to look into my crystal ball and see what’ s likely to come up in the world of employment over the next 12 months. It’ s no exaggeration to state that last year was a rollercoaster for employers in the UK. Not least because there was so much debate and parliament,“ ping-pong,” about the ERB( Employment Rights Bill) which is a major plank in the government’ s legislative agenda and has been described as,“ the biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation.”
I’ m old enough to remember when big changes such as the National Minimum Wage, the Working Time Directive and the Right to Request Flexible Working first came in. And over the years I’ ve learned that knee-jerk reactions and predictions about what new legislation will mean in practice and what the actual implementation timeframes will be – is futile! So, in that vein here is my best effort at what employers should plan for in 2026.
For small business owners I’ d say the top priorities are:
Managing Sickness Absence For small businesses, sick pay is normally limited to SSP which is currently £ 118.75 per week and paid for up to 28 weeks. It is payable from day four of absence. Fun fact: did you know that SSP was first introduced in 1983? Originally employers could reclaim SSP but that reduced over time and in 2014 recouping of SSP costs was abolished.
The change to be aware of is that, from April 2026 SSP will be payable from day one of sickness absence. This is a big shift and it will be interesting to see the impact( if any?!?) on sickness absence levels. If your business gets persistent, short-term absence related to things like coughs, colds, musculo-skeletal issues, flu, sickness and diarrhoea, etc., will you find that sickness absence increases because it’ s payable from Day One?!? It certainly means that recording and tracking absence will become more important. I speak to many clients that don’ t actively track sickness absence but I’ d say this is something you will want to get in place. These days there are lots of low-cost, off-the-shelf systems that can help you do this. Watch this space …
Day-One Employment Rights Also in April 2026, come the following family leave changes:
• Paternity leave from day one of employment( no qualifying period)
• Unpaid parental leave from day one of employment
And, you may have heard about the much-touted day one unfair dismissal rights. These have been updated in the last month or so and now will be replaced with a six-month qualifying period( down from the current two years) but this change won’ t come in until early 2027. I guess that means I’ ve got a bit longer to figure out what the ramifications of that might be for SMEs …
I don’ t know about you, but I found 2025 exhausting so here’ s to maintaining our motivation and energy levels in 2026 – it’ s going to be another cracker!
I’ d love to help you develop and deliver your people priorities for the year ahead, do get in touch if you’ d like a chat
Ruth George- HR Consultant- ruth @ ruthgeorge. com | 07899 920075
© Ruth George HR Consulting. This is not legal advice and is provided for general information only.
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